water testing for old well

newtosdNovember 12, 2011

Hello everyone,

My husband and I built a new house and connected to an old well. (We demolished the old house.) Culligan tested our water but did not test for bacteria. We will be renting a twin water softener and iron clear.

My questions are:

1. Should we send the water sample to test for bacteria before or after Culligan installs the equipment?

2. Should we have the state test for anything else?

The paperwork states that new well are required to test for bacteria, nitrate, conductivity, sodium and sulfates. However, we did not drill a new well and do not want to pay for unnecessary tests.

You should test the old well the same as the new well to establish the water conditions regarding what needs to be treated to make the water nice and SAFE.

You want to know the exact water conditions before doing anything regarding water treatment so put Culligan off until you have the lab results.

I'd have the state or an independent lab test for hardness, iron, manganese, magnesium, TDS, PH, nitrates, bacteria, sodium and sulfates at a minimum to be sure that Culligan accurately represented the water conditions. Neither the state or an independent lab has an interest in selling or renting you water treatment equipment.

Brickeyee - I wrote that poorly. We are definitely doing the bacteria tests. My question is, since we are definitely installing the twin water softener and iron clear, won't the other issues be addressed by the equipment? Thus, the water will be treated anyway? The iron is apparent in the water (yellow initially - now cloudy). The water softener is for our peace of mind, especially since most people in our area have hard water, public and private well.

To achieve success treating problem water one gets the results of a comprehensive water test and THEN selects and sizes the equipment based on those results, plumbing requirements, and water usage... not the other way around.

When treating well water it is ALWAYS advisable to have the water tested by a certified lab and not to rely on quickie water tests from Sears or a water softener company that won't be as accurate (and possibly not as competent) as from a certified independent lab.

When you have the results of a comprehensive water test then we can speak intelligently to your water treatment needs.

You'd also be wise to get at least two other water treatment companies in there to quote you. Make sure you include at least one local independent water treatment pro because Culligan may be over-selling you.